Saracens have strenuously denied breaking any salary cap rules following the revelation in yesterday's Guardian that the activities of at least one leading Premiership club are being examined. Edward Griffiths, Saracens' chief executive, said his club had not exceeded the current £4m cap and called for an end to political "sabre-rattling" between rival English sides.

"To try and portray Saracens as a club bankrolled by millionaires seeking the best players in the world would be about five years out of date," said Griffiths, confident that Sarries do not have a case to answer. "Unless the Premiership clubs start working together and we stop this culture of making wild attacks on each other in the media we're not going to advance."

While Saracens have made several high-profile signings for next season, with English internationals David Strettle, Matt Stevens and Richard Wigglesworth, plus Scotland's Kelly Brown and South Africa's Deon Carstens, all relocating to Herfordshire, the club have also recruited from the lower divisions and possesses a thriving academy. It also seems probable that a number of long-serving players, including Justin Marshall, Glen Jackson, Moses Rauluni, Kevin Sorrell, Richard Haughton and Kevin Sorrell, will bid farewell at the end of the season. Griffiths does accept, however, that there is a difference of opinion between richer and poorer clubs as to whether the salary cap should be raised next year. "There has to be a balance between those clubs looking anxiously at the bank manager and those clubs looking anxiously at the leading French clubs," he said.

"In any group people have different needs and some clubs are finding running an elite rugby club very challenging. It is in their interests that the costs are contained. Others may have bigger ambitions to compete in Europe against French teams with a salary cap of €7m [£6m] and Irish teams with no salary cap. I don't doubt that all the clubs are operating within the regulations but whether there are some clubs who are frustrated by that I don't know."

"At Saracens we want to play our part in making English domestic rugby the most respected in the world. We don't want it to be second-rate. Having said that we're not oblivious to the economic reality facing some of our clubs. We have to face the reality that there are different demands on different people but the sabre-rattling on both sides is counter-productive. I hope the league will be able to find a sensible compromise."